The present invention relates to a microwave clothes dryer, particularly to a clothes dryer having a rotating drum having radially inwardly extending baffles and in which air is introduced into the drum and moist air is removed for drying clothes. Microwave energy is introduced into the drum to heat the wet clothes to remove moisture.
It is important in the design of a microwave clothes dryer that microwave power is transferred to the wet clothing uniformly to avoid hot spots in the fabric mass. It is advantageous then to provide multiple magnetron tubes for radiating a common chamber. Multiple magnetrons are suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,795,871 and 4,771,156 but these patents disclose magnetron tubes which are mounted stationary with respect to the dryer. Separate tumbler containers or drums are suggested for placing within the microwave chamber.
Other microwave dryers are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,703,565; 4,490,923; 4,510,697; 4,765,066; and 4,250,628. These patents disclose microwave dryers having stationary microwave magnetrons arranged to transmit microwave energy into the drums. These devices typically require a complicated and involved sealing arrangement between a rotating drum and a stationary closure member or magnetron support.